1. STORIES OF A SMARTER PLANET
Is mobile
Africa’s future?
African economies are among the fastest-growing in the world. Today,
the continent is poised to transform the global economic landscape.
Sub-Saharan Africa’s
annual GDP
growth averaged
5.7%
between 2000 and 2010.1
Annual growth is
expected to average Africa accounts for
7%
average over the next 20 years.1
14%
of the world’s population.2
A new middle class is emerging in Africa, signaling new growth
opportunities for several key industries. Primary among them is mobile
communications—a necessity to Africa’s expanding economy, and
an increasingly critical part of daily life.
By the end of 2012,
Nearly there will be
90%
of all phones in Africa
are mobile phones.3
735
million
mobile subscribers
in Africa.4
Across Africa, mobile technology is becoming a cornerstone for industries
like healthcare and agriculture. For millions of people, it is making
banking truly accessible for the first time.
Close to 18 million
Kenyans use mobile
phones as a bank
account, depositing Total African mobile money transfers
and transferring money are expected to exceed
remotely to avoid $200 billion
in 2015, accounting for approximately
excessive travel and 18%
wait times.5 of the continent’s GDP. 6
Bharti Airtel is working with IBM to deliver next-generation mobile phone
service across 16 African countries, from Ghana to Tanzania—offering not
just a voice and data network, but a world-class platform for digital services.
The elements of a smarter mobile infrastructure can include:
1. Services
Providing basic voice
and data services,
including voicemail and
text messaging.
2. pplications and Content
A
Delivering sophisticated
web-based services, from
banking capabilities to
video and news.
3. etwork Management
N
Applying advanced
analytics to manage
the flow of data and
help prevent outages.
4. ustomer Support
C
Powering the management,
measurement, monitoring
and billing of all customer
interactions.
5. Authentication
Verifying the identity
of users and preventing
subscriber fraud.
They will support the growing needs of Africa’s “power users.”
Monthly, a typical mobile Monthly, a sophisticated
user with a feature phone mobile user with a
averages: smartphone averages:7
1,000
1,000
300
20
120 60 10 1
Voice minutes Text messages Megabytes of data Transactions
Bharti’s mobile network is helping to fuel growth on the continent of
Africa—equipping citizens with the tools they need to improve their
lives in ways never before possible.
• I
mproving communication capabilities • M
aking banking services more accessible
for people without computers or Internet to more people.
access.
• C
onnecting people to health information,
• E
mpowering farmers and business owners products and services.8
with real-time information.
1
The Economist, 2011.
2
United States Agency for International Development.
3
A
frica—Mobile Voice and Data Communications Statistics, 2011.
4
GSMA, 2011.
5
The Guardian, 2011.
6
Pyramid Research.
7
A
nalysys Mason, 2012.
8
Discovery Tech.